A Nice Julian Stay (and Apple Pie, Too)

Want a classic local dessert with your night at the inn?

By Alysia Gray Painter •Published August 30, 2016•Updated on September 7, 2016 at 9:12 pm

THE START OF SEPTEMBER... has a way of encouraging some very calendar-specific cravings. We begin to long for warmer dishes, and maybe the occasional stew or casserole, the kind of heartier fare that reigns in our kitchens in the fall and winter. We turn our minds to pumpkin spice, in all of its modern forms, from muffins to cupcakes to the ever-popular lattes. And we think about apples, and specifically apple pies, and where we might indulge in this pastry-perfect staple of the windowsill (and, yes, the bakery shelf, too). Apple-y places abound around our country, and California definitely has a few fruit-famous destinations to crow about, including Julian. The Gold Rush town has become so associated with apples that any road trip up into the hills without procuring a piece of pie seems like a wasted day (and there are a number of places to find it, too). Julian is so pie-centered, in fact, that the Julian Gold Rush Hotel, which is located in the heart of town, has a special involving a voucher that'll nab you some local pie goodness. It's called the...

"APPLE PIE," which is a very easy name to remember, and if you book it you'll receive "a voucher for fresh-made apple pie or two slices of pie a la mode at one of our local pie shops," advises the hotel's online HQ. And while historic inns like this one do offer cookies or other treats to guests, a way to enjoy apple pie is a rarer thing. There are other lovely perks to the special, including afternoon tea, so read all and see if that suits your potential Julian stay. A stay which will, of course, involve the consuming of cinnamon-y apples encased in a flaky crust, so the question is this: Would you like to have a voucher for that treat from the hotel where you're staying? Fall is on the horizon and pondering road-tripping to Julian, and how apple pie may best be procured, involves some deep and thorough decision-making.

THE RATE... opens at $150, and there are some asterisks to become appie'd about. Or, rather, we mean apprised.